1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to lighting systems, programmable lighting controllers, and lighting fixtures including flourescent lamp ballasts and light emitting diode (LED) power sources.
2. Background Art
An existing lighting system includes a number of lighting fixtures and a controller in the form of a host computer. The host computer sends individual commands to each lighting fixture over a communication network. One problem in such a system is that a bottleneck in the communications may occur as lights are turned on and brightness is adjusted. Another problem in such a system is the failure of the system to operate when the host computer is disconnected.
In another existing arrangement, programmable lighting circuit controllers have been used in certain applications where a wall-mounted controller controls a plurality of household lighting circuits. These controllers have limited capabilities, and have only been used in certain applications.
Background information may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,501,994, 4,733,138, 5,059,871, 5,504,398, 5,539,284, 5,652,481, 5,677,603, 5,811,942, 6,639,368, and 6,486,615.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for improved lighting control system and method.